The Council of State Archivists (CoSA) is celebrating Electronic Records Day Saturday, 10.10. The Council of State Archivists (CoSA)
is celebrating Electronic Records Day Saturday, 10.10. Electronic Records Day is an opportunity to raise awareness among government agencies, related professional organizations, the general public and other stakeholders about the crucial role electronic records play in our world. Now in its fourth year, Electronic Records Day was created by the Council of State Archivists (CoSA) as part of its State Electronic Records Initiative (SERI).
With the increasing reliance on information technology, the challenge to manage, preserve, and provide access to digital records and information continues to grow. Managing electronic records is an urgent issue!
Electronic records are subject to changes in software and hardware that can leave them virtually inaccessible after just a few years, if not monitored.
Electronic records require proactive management. The best time to plan for electronic records preservation is at the time records are created, rather than when software is being replaced or a project is ending.
Electronic records should be evaluated according to their information content, not their format, and be subject to the same retention schedules and public records requirements as physical records.
Paper records stored in good conditions can be read centuries afterwards; electronic records, however, can become unreadable very quickly, without proper management and care.
For more information on Electronic Records Day please visit http://www.statearchivists.org/seri/ElectronicRecordsDay.htm.
Did you find this post through Facebook or Twitter? Then check out the Ohio Electronic Records Committee’s Social Media Guidelines and Tip Sheet. The OhioERC has other electronic records management and preservation guidelines and tip sheets as well, including email, digitization and websites.
Fred Previts, State Archivist
